Malibu Wine Safari

The first time my sister and I visited California a trip to Malibu's Saddlerock Ranch and Vineyard didn't make it on to our itinerary. So this time we made sure to book tickets to the 'giraffe experience' on the Malibu Wine Safari.

The sprawling 1,000 acre property is home to retired celebrities like Stanley the Giraffe (he doesn't have an IMDb page, but they mentioned one of his acting credits included The Hangover III) and a number of other animals visitors have a chance to feed carrots and lettuce. The wine safari is more like a tasting at a vineyard with the twist of getting to feed animals petting zoo style.

There were several tours divided up by group going on at the same time, each assigned to a different animal print coordinated, 12 passenger seated truck. The safari includes a small tour of the property, some background on the family who owns the ranch (spoiler alert, they are incredibly wealthy), a tasting of six wines, and of course some photo ops with the animals.

We booked the 105 minute Giraffe Tour, which cost $95. While I'm aware that isn't a terribly long amount of time, if I had one complaint it would be that I constantly felt rushed. There were a dozen people all trying to feed and take photos with the animals, a dozen people all waiting for pours from one bottle of wine at a time, and the tour guides need to keep things moving at a steady clip to not interfere with the other simultaneous tours.

It's there were I have my mixed feelings; this is a super popular, heavily photographed tour. I feel like I could say with confidence that no one was there because they were interested in tasting wines from a region not known for producing amazing wines. I could even say most people weren't there because they were excited to feed a giraffe. Everyone was there for the photos. My tour group was mostly female, and few heeded the instructions to not wear heels. The idea was to look cute, take photos with Stanley, and post on Instagram. So who am I to complain I didn't feel like I had enough time to get the photos I wanted when I should have been focused on the fact that a giraffe licked my hand, something which will likely never happen again.

                

The Rundown
Floral Jumpsuit Old Navy similar
Knotted Button Down Old Navy similar
Slides Steve Madden similar
Round Rattan Bag Etsy
Tear Earrings Etsy custom design via Bonanza Studio
Pineapple Necklace Moon & Lola via Rocksbox 

Fatima Bracelet c/o Gorjana similar

Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Ellyn Blue Jewelry
 Sunglasses "Caravan" Ray-Ban
 Nail Color "Sunday Funday" Essie

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